What do The Children of the Corn, Cousin Itt, and a gore-soaked comic spin on Sweeney Todd have in common?

I’ll let you know right after I chat about this indie comic (Although most of you will figure it out right off the bat anyway)

Prime Cuts

Volume 1

Written by: John Franklin and Tim Sulka

Illustrations by: Rob Gutman

Genre: Horror, Post Apocalyptic. Be prepared for sex, drugs, and violence.

Book Description:

After a decade in cosmetology prison, Todd Sweeney returns home to Pure Springs, shears in hand, to find and kill the man who destroyed his family. Too bad fate has other plans.

Overall

I think this is a promising start to what is shaping up to be an interesting re-imagining of Sweeney Todd. And I’ll start off by saying that I’m personally a fan of the show and the Tim Burton version of the story.

There’s love, hate, revenge, and exciting spouts of blood spraying into the air as bodies slide down cleverly engineered barber chairs-turned-trap-doors. The music is enchanting, and the story is coated in that delightful Victorian melancholy I find so delicious.

Prime Cuts does a good job of capturing that sense of hopelessness and moral decay that Sweeney Todd itself revels in. But with Prime Cuts, the leading characters are all young adults living in a faded version of our reality, where mad cow’s disease has wiped out the majority of the world’s red meat supply.

Which means, people are losing their s*** over hamburgers and pepperoni.

The scarcity factor of resources feeds into the shady nature of the story’s characters. I imagine that they would all proudly call themselves “the degenerate scum of the underbelly of a failing society”. So, yes, please expect to read a comic that will make you feel at least a little uncomfortable while reading it. There’s misogynists, drugs, sex, plenty of blood and violence.

Art

The style of this comic’s art isn’t your traditional one. It feels a bit rough and unpolished, expressing the story in sketch style line-art and muted colors. Which, even though it does feel like it could have used a little more refining before going into the coloring process, It’s successful in conveying the drained hope and  off-beat personality the story has.

Strong Start

I do like how this story is beginning, and I’m looking forward to reading volume II soon. I’m terribly curious to see what other details they explore in the writing  of the next volume. How much of the story will remain the same as the stage play? Where will the depraved details of this world slip in to influence the story? How many “meat pies” are they going to end up making?

Verdict

I always feel a little odd about slapping a star rating on the first issue of a comic. It’s kind of like proposing to someone after having only half a conversation. But I will say this introduction deserves a second date. I’m intrigued and I’d love to know where the story is going next. So, 4 out of 5 blood spattered stars. Because this book is serving up revenge hot and cheesy – in a very good way.

Find a Copy

As of right now the authors are offering Prime Cuts Volume 1 for free when you sign up for their email list.

Or you can purchase Prime Cuts Volume 1 over on Indyplanet. Volume 2 will be coming out soon, so I’ll be bringing you my review of the next part of the story soon.

Back to the question of the day

Q: What do Children of the Corn, Cousin Itt, and this indie comic Prime Cuts have in common?

A: John Franklin

John Franklin played Isaac in the original Children of the Corn and again in the sequel that he and Tim Sulka Co-wrote, Children of the Corn 666: Issac’s Return.

John also played Cousin Itt in the Addams Family Values movie from 1993. And together John and Tim Sulk have written Prime Cuts.

Connect with the Authors

Here’s where you can connect with John and Tim

primecutsnovel.com ♦ @primecutsnovel ♦ Facebook

Bonus Interview Time

After reading the comic I wanted to learn some more about these two creative people and I found this fantastic interview over on Broke Horror Fan. You should definitely check it out.